This invention relates to a method for efficiently allocating computing resources and, more particularly, to a method for reducing computing resources required to process images of objects in real-time so that the resources saved may be used to perform other tasks, like processing increased detail in other images of objects and/or increasing the number of images of objects presented.
In real-time computer image generation systems, the detail with which objects in a scene can be displayed is limited by the number of computations that can be performed during an update interval of the display. For example, in one common scheme similar to a U.S. television standard, a field is updated every 1/60 second. Two fields are interleaved on the display to provide an entire scene description. Thus, all computations for describing elements to be displayed in a scene must be performed within 1/60 second every 1/60 second.
Objects in a scene are typically defined by a predetermined number of polygons, or faces, with greater detail requiring more polygons. In a real-time display system wherein the relation between an object and a viewer is changing, the orientation and positioning of each polygon, along with characteristics, such as texturing and shading, assigned to each polygon must be calculated during each update interval. This results in a tradeoff based on objective and/or subjective criteria with respect to the amount of detail to be displayed in each object versus the number and type of objects to be displayed.
Addition of greater computing capability for processing additional polygons is expensive, increases hardware size and may not be feasible.
Thus, it would be desirable to reduce the number of polygons that must be processed for displaying an object so that the number of polygons processed elsewhere in the scene can be increased, thereby permitting additional detail and/or additional objects to be displayed, while maintaining the same overall processing capability.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to reduce computing resources necessary for displaying an image of an object in real-time.
Another object is to minimize the number of polygons necessary to represent an object of a display.